Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Father Emil Kapaun, a man of faith that you never heard of...

via War History Online.

He didn’t carry a weapon, he wasn’t there to fight, but that didn’t stop chaplain Emil Kapaun from earning the nation’s highest military honor for gallantry. When over 20,000 Chinese soldiers surprised a few thousand men of the 8th Cavalry Regiment at the Battle of Unsan, one of the worst military routs of the war was about to take place.

Casualties were high as bullets, mortars, and rockets tore through the air before the order for every able-bodied man to withdraw was given. Having already braved the heavy fire to offer services and first-aid to the wounded, this chaplain refused to leave. The enemy broke through, and combat was hand-to-hand, and yet Kapaun continued to serve faithfully and his time as a POW wouldn’t be any different.

He continually encouraged the men and willingly gave up his own food and medicine on their behalf until he passed away from his own medical conditions.